Found a Bat...

nicholas

nicholas

Established Member
Sooooo, I found a bat in my house. I currently have it in an old reptarium. I am not sure what to do with it as its freezing outside and from what I have read these types of bats would be currently hibernating at this point of the year. I cant just put it outside the poor thing would freeze and I cant just put it back in my attic, because thats just not okay. Ahhh what should I do?
 
kinyonga said:
Be careful...I think they can carry rabies.
Where do you live?
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I live in Minnesota. I am not to worried about the rabies issue as I am not carrying it around with me or anything. I just don't want to take it anywhere that is going to kill it and I have a feeling that is just what animal control will do.
 
Statistically bats carry rabies with no higher frequency then any other wild animal, it is sort of a wife's tale that they are a higher risk. Bats are totally great, super insect regulators. Do you have any colleges near you? Or, if you have a warm enough day you could put it outside and it will find a place hibernate. We have bat houses up on our property, which really only have a screen on the interior,and are a wood box with a slit at the bottom. He will find a place to sleep for the winter, IF it is warm enough with some sun to fly. Good luck. I always thought a bat as a pet would be interesting...
 
They sell bats at the reptile shop near me. Very neat, they use their sonar to fly around the cage so they dont bump into walls.
 
Lizardlover said:
They sell bats at the reptile shop near me. Very neat, they use their sonar to fly around the cage so they dont bump into walls.
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Are you serious? It is very illegal to sell them. There are very few people who can legally own one. If they are in fact selling them, you should probably report them. There's a 50% chance that what they have is a rare or endangered species. They're not using sonar to fly around the cage, they're using it because they are hungry and looking for food. Bats can see better than humans. Most Florida bats I am familar with eat their weight in food 2-3 times a day. They'll eat as much as a comparable sized reptile eats in a week in just one day.

If the bats are in cages for too long, their muscles will atrophy, and they will eventually die.

To keep bats in captivity one must be USDA licensed, and have the necessary state and local permits for native wildlife. Bats cannot be transported within the USA without a CDC permit. Bats can only be transferred to an institution that is bona fide conservation, zoological or scientific organization or registered establishments that have approved facilities and certified education programs.
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Source for the above quote is Batworld Organization.

To the person who found the bat, please contact one of the following people ASAP:

Minneapolis Mickey Conner/Gregg Froele 612-926-2882

Golden Valley Wildlife Rehab & Release 763-489-2223, 612-822-7058

Roseville Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota
Karen Koeper & Phil Phil Jenni 651-486-WILD

Saint Paul Stephanie Reynolds 651-248-1102
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If you're unable to get in touch with any of those rehabbers. Please let me know. We're licensed as a rehabilitation facility for bats and can answer any husbandry questions you might have in the meantime.
 
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nicholas said:
Sooooo, I found a bat in my house. I currently have it in an old reptarium. I am not sure what to do with it as its freezing outside and from what I have read these types of bats would be currently hibernating at this point of the year. I cant just put it outside the poor thing would freeze and I cant just put it back in my attic, because thats just not okay. Ahhh what should I do?
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The first thing you should do is contact one of the rehabbers in my last post. The bat is probably dehydrated and will die in a few days time if it's not treated.

There's a 99% chance that the bat insectivorous. You can try offering it some mealworms in a dish inserted into the reptarium wall. You can also try offering it water in a similar dish. Just make sure you put little stones in the water so that the water is near to the top of the dish, but not deep enough to permit drowning of the bat. Just imagine that they're going to crawl down the side of the reptarium and eat and drink upside down, and you might get a good idea for the placement.

The bat was probably living in your attic. Which means that there is a way in and out of your attic that probably does not involve your front door :). He probably would have left on his own eventually, but like you said, due to the weather he's probably not going to be releasable until spring. When it gets warmer, you might want to check your attic for entrances that the bats might be using to get in and exclude them... of course it's possible this is just a one off.

Please don't handle or touch the bat without gloves (or at all if possible). Don't let it come into contact with any of your pets. In Florida, the state has quarantined all the mammals in some of our clients houses for months where a bat came into contact with a household pet. I'm sure they have similar disease control laws in Minnesotta.

If you could post or send me a picture, I can get it ID'd for you.
 
tastyworms said:
If you're unable to get in touch with any of those rehabbers. Please let me know. We're licensed as a rehabilitation facility for bats and can answer any husbandry questions you might have in the meantime.
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Neat!!!:) I think bats are very interesting. Must be really cool to get to work with them!!!:cool:
 
He probly was going to hibernate in ur attic:p Might be easiest to just put him back and let him be as long as your not affraid of bats and he isnt pooping up the place, but if he is indeed hibernating his metabolism should be so low that he doesnt make a mess. Nature usually does best when we let it be.
 
Sorry it took so long to reply, its been a busy week oh and I forgot I asked this question on here. So here is what went down... The reason I found him is bacause my cat found him in the attic and decided to carry it downstairs and the just let it go in the living room where it proceeded to squeak and fly around the room like a "bat outta hell" He then decided he would settle on the ficus in my living room, I then caught him gently in a towel and places him in a reptarium and fed and gave him a drink of water supplemented with pedialyte. He ate a total of 3 crickets, 4 silk worms and a silk moth. So he must have been very hungry to eat like that in captivity. I then Went into the attic to take a peak around and what do ya know there are about 6 or 7 up there fast asleep. I just placed him right back up there and blocked off the entrance into the attic that the cat had been using. I also found a hole about the size of a gold ball that I believe is where they were getting in. So in the spring/ summer I will wait until they are all out for the night and Block off their entrance. :( so they will have to find a new roost. I know I m going to feel awful taking their home away but they dont pay rent soooo, see ya.
 
buy a 80 dollar pellet gun and shoot it. dont mean to be cruel, but its a lot less you'll have to pay calling animal control.:p
 
Im glad you let them stay for the winter, probly best to let him stay with his communal group. If anything u wont have to worry about bugs in your attic. very humane :) plus killing it isnt very nice since they eat all the things we as humans hate, mosquitos, moths, junebugs
 
In my house in Spain we don't really have an attic, but there's this overhang over the top floor bedrooms and balconies. And there has been a hole to that space ever since I was a kid, and in the fall/winter we get lots and lots of tiny bats, and in spring we get little birds that nest in there. I don't want to know that it looks like in there by now lol But every time my mom says she wants to block it off I don't let her. It's super neat sitting on the balcony at dusk and watch them all poke their heads out and then fly out for hunting time.

I'm glad you're going to let them do their thing until spring. Killing him would be unnecessary and riddiculous.
 
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